Former Lehigh football player and mascot scores big role in Broadway's 'Lombardi'

From stadium to stage

October 21, 2010|By Irene Kraft, OF THE MORNING CALL

Ever since he was a teenager, football has played a major role in Robert Christopher "Bob" Riley's life. But little did he know that it would someday help him land a major role on Broadway.

Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Riley played football at Brooklyn Technical High School. He was recruited by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where he played free safety for a year then became a popular school mascot, The Waveman, as he pursued a degree in the theater.

Now the 30-year-old is on the big stage in New York in one of the most talked about musicals, "Lombardi." Eric Simonson's 90-minute, six-person drama is about legendary football coach Vince Lombardi, who led the Green Bay Packers to win the first two Super Bowls. The National Football League renamed its trophy after him in 1970 after he died of cancer.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Riley plays former Penn State and Green Bay Packer linebacker Dave Robinson, who develops a close, father-son-type relationship with Lombardi, played by Dan Lauria ("Wonder Years"). Judith Light ("Who's the Boss") plays Lombardi's wife, Marie, a woman who learns to make sacrifices in her personal life to allow the man she loves to pursue his passion.

Based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Maraniss' book, "When Pride Still Mattered," "Lombardi" pays tribute to a coach whose dedication made his players both hate him and love him, as he inspired them be more than they thought they could be. He teaches them that hard work, discipline, respect and time are crucial elements to victory. Although gone for more than 40 years, Lombardi is among the most quoted football coaches of all time, known for lines like, "Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing."

"Lombardi" is set in November 1965, when a young journalist comes to live with the Lombardis to write an article about the man who revived the Packers' franchise after his arrival in 1959.

But the play is not just about football, says associate producer Joe Favorito. It also explores the relationships in this complicated man's life and how football affected them.

Riley says his background in football helps him bring authenticity to his role as Robinson. "It helped me understand the world this play takes place in. And, it taught me how to help the guys put on the uniform," Riley adds with a chuckle.

"He's a great football player and an awesome individual," says Riley of Robinson, who was a rookie on the Packers in 1963 and became part of three championship teams. He played football at Penn State from 1960 to 1962, when Joe Paterno was assistant coach to Rip Engle, and was drafted by the Packers in 1963. In 1997, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

"Lombardi" was created with the National Football League as a special producing partner, marking the organization's first foray onto Broadway. The NFL has authorized use of its logos and NFL Films' footage and music. The league also is helping to market the play.

"Lombardi has been in previews at the Circle in the Square Theatre since Sept. 23. Its formal opening was Thursday, when Riley walked the red carpet with his mother Joy Riley, whom he says now couldn't be more proud of his career choice.

Riley, who was raised by his single mother and his grandmother, chose Lehigh for his higher educaiton because it was close enough to home so he could visit them.

He majored in accounting, but says he was bored and much more excited by his introduction to acting course. Oddly he had signed up for it on a whim, recalling the fun he had in a high school musical.

His professor, Kashi Johnson, encouraged him to try out for the school's theater production, , "A Raisin in the Sun." It was the first play written by a black women ( Lorraine Hansberry) and directed by a black man (Lloyd Richards) to be produced on Broadway.

"She asked me to audition for the show because they needed more black actors," recalls Riley. "I told her 'No thanks. I'm a football player.' " The rest, he adds, was history.

Riley changed his major to marketing and theater. The marketing, he says, was to keep his mother happy, because she wasn't convinced acting could be a lucrative career. But it wasn't long before he became more deeply involved in acting, dropping the marketing courses completely.

Riley credits his education at Lehigh for shaping his future in acting. "Lehigh gave me the chance to figure out what it was I was supposed to do with my life," he says.